By
On Top Magazine Staff
Published:
February 11, 2013

Lauren Drain, a former member of the
Westboro Baptist Church, the anti-gay church helmed by Fred Phelps,
has posed for the NOH8 Campaign, which
raises awareness and funds for gay rights causes, including ending
California's 2008 voter-approved gay marriage ban, Proposition 8.

The Topeka, Kansas-based Westboro
Baptist Church, infamous for coining the phrase “God Hates Fags,”
has said its members protest the funerals of fallen American soldiers
because they were protecting a nation which supports homosexuality.

Along with the photo, Drain explained
that she now feels that her participation with the church was
“wrong.”

“In my opinion, religion of any kind
is a personal choice, full of personal values, definitions and views
that should stay just that – personal,” she
wrote. “I don't think anyone should judge or persecute another
human being or any group of individuals based off of those personal,
chosen, beliefs. I am against any and all forms of violence,
discrimination, bullying or bigotry directed at someone else due to
their personal lifestyle.”

“The main reason I posed for the NOH8
Campaign was in direct response to the judgments of the WBC. I
wanted to show people that despite having grown up within the cult
and having spent a good portion of my life on the picket line,
holding signs condemning our deceased soldiers, reveling in any and
all forms of tragedy and simply striving to be hurtful in the name of
God; that the WBC is wrong and what I did at the time was wrong! I
now try and lead by example, with love, compassion and an open mind.
Having done a complete 180, I still struggle with little things from
time to time – but I know in my heart that I am now on the right
path.”

“In the end, I think God will judge
us all; however I think He wants us all to have the freedom to make
our own decisions.”